Science and technology: Key to our national development

At a time when Nigeria is engaging in Vision 2020 development projects aimed at accelerating economic development to propel the country to the league of advanced nations by the year 2020, it is pertinent to highlight the role of science and technology in achieving this goal.

Science may be defined as “cumulative verifiable and communicative knowledge”. Pure science is the investigation of nature to satisfy the need to know while applied science is the application of pure science to some practical human need.  

Technology on the other hand is a body of knowledge and devices by which man masters his environment. It is not synonymous with applied science, being more empirical in its approach to solving problems. The three major technologies – agriculture, medicine and engineering – all made substantial progress before they were wedded to science. Fundamentally, technology is an extension of man’s capacity to see further and clearer, hear more, travel faster and for greater distances etc. Science and technology have therefore been key drivers for growth and sustainable social development and transformation of nations, leading to industrialisation.

Infrastructure links all industries together. It is a complex that seems to evade precise definition but is invaluable in the economic transformation of any nation.  A recent colloquium of Nigerian engineers, defined infrastructure as to those physical structures that facilitate the production of goods and services, without themselves being part of the production process. They include highways, airports, harbours, utility production and distributive systems, water and sewer systems, communication networks and energy networks.

Generally our infrastructure is still poorly developed when compared with that of developed and developing countries. For example Brazil, an emerging economy has a population of 179.1 million and generates 86,020 MW of electricity, resulting in per capita generation of 480 watts. In contrast, Nigeria currently produces about 3000 MW for a population of about 140 million, giving a per capita generation of 21.43 watts, which is not enough to light even a 40 watt bulb, accounting for the nation’s virtual perpetual darkness.

Similar contrasting observations can be made with our transportation, communication, agricultural, and education infrastructure. To achieve rapid scientific and technological development, there must be substantial improvements in our infrastructure.

Apart from oil and gas, the majority of national industries are moribund.  If anything is to be blamed for these massive failures, it is human failure not science and technology. Human factors are critical in determining the course of socio-economic transformation. Germany, today’s industrial giant presents a perfect example.  Germany was brought together united under the inspirational leadership of Otto von Bismarck in 1871. Before unification Germany was composed of states that were only loosely united as German speaking people each with its own king. Bismarck’s inspirational leadership signaled the transformation of Germany into a nation with relentless zeal for competition with Britain and France in commerce and industry.

Nigeria has a proliferation of Universities, and other tertiary institutions that can form the basis for development of science and technologies at different levels to provide support for the take off and sustainance of an industrial revolution.  However, the country must be prepared to address specific obvious loopholes in the educational and industrial systems.  For example, there is no foundation established for the development of science and technology.

Developed nations in the West have set the pace with about 10 per cent of their countries’ GDP set aside by law for development of science and technology.  Asian countries such as South Korea have followed suit and set aside over 10 per cent of their GDP for science and technology. In Nigeria, inspite of a proliferation of Universities, Polytechnics and Research Institutes less than one per cent of GDP is allocated for funding of science and technology.

According to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO 2007), there were 882,715 patent applications from China, 5,220,327 from the USA and only 699 from Nigeria between 1985-2006.  It has been shown that there is a definite correlation between funding of research and development and progress in science and technology.

In conclusion, we recommend:
1. The establishment of a National Science Foundation and dedication of least two per cent of GDP per year to it to sustain science and technology.
2. Strengthening primary and secondary education to check the alarming failure in science and mathematics (80-90 per cent) in WAEC or NECO examinations, that paints a bleak picture of the development of science and technology in future.